The Great Molasses Flood of 1919

Jan. 20, 1919: A big section of the molasses tank smashed into the walls of the freight house of the Bay State Street Railway Co. with enough force to tear the structure apart.
Boston Globe Archive

The Great Molasses Flood of 1919

Jan. 16, 1919: At approximately 12:40 p.m. on the previous day, the North End was shaken by a terrific explosion caused by the bursting of a giant tank at the Purity Distilling Co. on Commercial Street. This is a view of the aftermath looking north across North End Park. The great molasses tank was located in the center of this picture. Sections of the metal may be seen at the extreme left and right in the picture. Twenty-one people perished, including two 10-year-olds, Pasquale Iantosca and Maria Distasio, who were collecting firewood near the molasses tank while home from school for lunch.

Boston Globe Archive
| January 9, 2013

Jan. 15, 1919: Word of the disaster quickly brought every available rescue agency to the scene. Police, firemen, Red Cross workers, civilian volunteers, and cadets from the USS Nantucket training ship berthed nearby were soon on the site. They pulled out many terrified people but others they were unable to reach.

Boston Globe Archive
| January 9, 2013

Jan. 16, 1919: The gooey molasses formed a tidal wave that reached a depth of 15 feet and in places was 100 yards wide over a two block area.

Boston Globe Archive
| January 9, 2013

Jan.16, 1919: The flood knocked down a house and smashed vehicles up and down Commercial Street.

Boston Globe Archive
| January 9, 2013

Jan. 16, 1919: The tank was 58 feet high and 98 feet in diameter. It was used to store molasses which eventually was shipped to a distillery in Cambridge. At the time of the explosion it was estimated that 2.5 million gallons of molasses were in the tank.

Boston Globe Archive
| January 9, 2013

Jan. 20, 1919: Welders carefully began cutting up the molasses tank with torches in the search for bodies. Even though firemen constantly sprayed water upon the twisted wreckage, it wasn't until the City of Boston ordered powerful streams from the city fireboat that the molasses began to disappear. The salt water of the harbor "cut" the molasses and eventually the welders could see the structure of the original tank.

Boston Globe Archive
| January 9, 2013

Jan. 20, 1919: A big section of the molasses tank smashed into the walls of the freight house of the Bay State Street Railway Co. with enough force to tear the structure apart.